Iot automation and data collection system

ABSTRACT

A system and method for automating a deployment site served by a distributed antenna system (DAS) is disclosed. The deployment site is configured with a plurality of remote antenna units (RAU). At least one of the plurality of remote antenna units includes a first transceiver for uplinking and downlinking a signal of a cellular service and at least one second transceiver for uplinking a signal of at least one electrical element. Data from the at least one second transceiver received from an electrical element is collected and routed to an electrical element data collector configured to aggregate the collected data. Adjustments to and optimization of a device within the deployment site are based on the collected data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/207,759 filed on Jul. 12, 2016, which claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/193,642filed Jul. 17, 2015, the content of which are relied upon andincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates generally to a wireless distribution system (WDS)and more particularly to techniques for Internet of Things (IOT)automation.

Wireless communication is rapidly growing, with ever-increasing demandsfor high-speed mobile voice communication. Wireless distribution systemsare used extensively to extend the reach of base stations of cellularservice providers. One example of a wireless distribution system is adistributed antenna system (DAS). DASs are particularly useful fordeployment inside buildings or other indoor environments where clientdevices may not otherwise be able to effectively receive radio-frequency(RF) signals from a source, such as a base station, for example. Theymay be used for both voice and data applications. Illustrativeapplications for distributed antenna systems to provide or enhancecoverage for wireless services include public safety, cellulartelephony, local access network (LANs), wireless local access networks(wireless LANs), location tracking and medical telemetry insidebuildings and over campuses.

Distributed antenna systems may also be used for other radio-basedcommunications services. As an example, local area wireless services(e.g., so-called “wireless fidelity” or “Wi-Fi” systems) and wide areawireless services are being deployed in many different types of areasand large venues, e.g., coffee shops, airports, libraries, stadiums,office buildings and the like. Wireless distribution systems (WDSs)communicate with wireless devices called “clients,” “client devices,”“wireless client devices,” or “wired client devices,” or more generally,electrical elements which reside within a deployment site of the WDS,that is within the range or WDS or “cell coverage area” provided by theWDS.

The manner in which a distributed antenna system provides or enhancescoverage is through a plurality of spatially separated antennas,sometimes known as remote antenna units (RAUs). The distributed antennasystem communicates with a variety of commercial communications systemsto distribute their services, especially voice and data communications,to clients within range of the distributed antenna system.

In so doing, the distributed antenna system provides a physical layer orinfrastructure for delivering signals from a base station or other radiotransceiver to/from a user equipment of an end user. For example, theWDS may be installed within a building to provide wireless connectivityto clients within the building.

Many buildings are also provided with building automation systems (BAS)to monitor and control heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)systems, manage building facilities (e.g., lighting, safety, andsecurity), and automate meter reading, as examples.

More recently, the technology of wireless sensor networks has beenattracting extensive research and development efforts to replace thetraditional wired solutions for building automation systems. Onechallenge in using wireless sensors for building automation is the needto guarantee adequate radio links between the sensors and a centralcontroller, while maintaining low battery power consumption. In manytypes of buildings, this is a significant challenge due to size of thesebuilding and the obstructions for radio frequency (RF) propagation, suchas thick walls, elevator shafts, metal sheets etc. Another challenge issupporting different protocols of the different sensor devices, such asBlue Tooth Low Energy (BLE), ZigBee™, SigFox, Zwave, Thread, and thelike. Often, these protocols may need to be converted into one standardprotocol (IP based) in order to be recognized and transferred all theway to application/data servers to be analyzed.

What is needed is a way to connecting devices and systems from withinand without a deployment site with greater precision, adaptability,scalability, security, and in a way that is easier to maintain andupdate. Deployment sites need an architecture that is flexible enough toevolve and adapt to the needs of today and tomorrow. This need includesa way to monitor conditions within a deployment site of a distributedantenna system and to control systems, based on the monitoredconditions, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC),lighting, safety, security, and utility meter reading, smart homerelated peripherals, as well as devices within such systems or otherdevices within the distributed antenna system. In addition, there may bea need to monitor movement and behavior of people within thepremise/building. There may also be a need for the ability to analyzeand predict future events, and a way to optimize organizationalprocesses.

SUMMARY

Technologies are described for using the capabilities of a wirelessdistribution system (WDS) and a distributed antenna system (DAS) thatimplements the WDS.

One embodiment of this disclosure relates to a system for managingcommunication over a network. The system includes a distributed antennasystem (DAS) for receiving at least one cellular service from at leastone base station The distributed antenna system (DAS) includes a headend unit (HEU) and a plurality of remote antenna units (RAU). Theplurality of remote antenna units (RAU) are distributed over thedeployment site and the head end unit (HEU) is configured for routingthe at least one cellular service to the plurality of remote antennaunits (RAU). At least one of the plurality of remote antenna unitsincludes a first transceiver configured for uplinking and downlinking asignal of a cellular service and at least one second transceiverconfigured for uplinking (and, in some illustrative embodiments,downlinking) a signal of at least one electrical element. An electricalelement at or about the deployment site is configured to generate anelectrical signal periodically, and/or on the occurrence of an event andto transmit the generated signal to the at least one second transceiver.The system also includes a router/gateway configured for connecting tothe at least one of the plurality of remote antenna units. Therouter/gateway is configured for routing data from the at least onesecond transceiver received from the electrical element. Therouter/gateway may also be configured to convert converting a protocolused by the at least one electrical element to a standard/commonprotocol, in one embodiment. The router/gateway may also be configuredto provide security measures against unwanted access to the at least oneelectrical element, in one embodiment. An automation controller isconfigured to determine adjustments to the automation system based onthe received electrical element data or on demand.

An additional embodiment of the disclosure relates to a method formonitoring and optimizing a network. The method is for automating a siteserved by a distributed antenna system (DAS) for receiving at least oneservice from at least one base station. The distributed antenna system(DAS) includes a head end unit (HEU) and a plurality of remote antennaunits (RAU). The plurality of remote antenna units (RAU) are distributedover the site. The head end unit (HEU) is configured for routing the atleast one service to the plurality of remote antenna units (RAU). Themethod includes configuring the site with a plurality of remote antennaunits (RAU), at least one of the plurality of remote antenna unitscomprising a first transceiver for uplinking and downlinking a signal ofa cellular service and at least one second transceiver for uplinking(and, in some illustrative embodiments, downlinking) a signal of atleast one electrical element and also includes collecting data from theat least one second transceiver received from an electrical element. Themethod also includes routing the collected data to an electrical elementdata collector configured to aggregate the collected data, determiningadjustments to a device within the site based on the collected data andoptimizing the device based on the collected data.

Another embodiment of the disclosure relates to a method for automatinga deployment site served by a distributed antenna system (DAS) forreceiving at least one service from at least one base station. Thedistributed antenna system (DAS) includes a head end unit (HEU) and aplurality of remote antenna units (RAU). The plurality of remote antennaunits (RAU) are distributed over the deployment site. The head end unit(HEU) is configured for routing the at least one service to theplurality of remote antenna units (RAU). The method includes configuringthe deployment site with a plurality of remote antenna units (RAU), atleast one of the plurality of remote antenna units being configured witha first transceiver for uplinking and downlinking a signal of a cellularservice and with at least one second transceiver for uplinking (and, insome illustrative embodiments, downlinking) a signal of at least oneelectrical element and also includes collecting data from the at leastone second transceiver received from an electrical element. The methodmay also include converting a protocol used by the at least oneelectrical element to a standard/common protocol, in one embodiment, ifneeded. The method also includes routing the collected data to anelectrical element data collector configured to aggregate the collecteddata, determining adjustments to a remote device connected to the atleast one electrical element based on the aggregated data and adjustingthe remote device based on the aggregated data. In one embodiment, themethod may also include storing and analyzing the data from theelectrical device using machine learning, deep learning, and AIalgorithms for optimizations, statistics gathering, and making relevantpredictions for things such as power failures, machinery failures,earthquakes, etc.

The foregoing automation system and method enable a distributed antennasystem (DAS) to illustratively provide an Internet of Things (IoT) hub.Illustratively, the remote antenna unit (RAU) of the distributed antennasystem (DAS) may provide the Internet of Things (IoT) hub with the headend unit (HEU) providing a gateway to the Internet that receives datafrom the remote antenna units (RAUs) from within a deployment site andstores the data in a database for access from without the distributedantenna system (DAS) by a public or private network over the Internet.In this illustrative example, the head end unit (HEU) also functions asan IP translator that may (1) receive data from the remote antenna unit(RAU) communicated in any of a number of protocol formats (e.g., BlueTooth Low Energy (BLE), Z-WAVE, Thread, ZigBee™, Wi-Fi, and long rangerelated protocols (LoRa) connection such as SIGFOX; as well asbi-directional protocols, such as WiFi), (2) extract that data from suchprotocol(s), (3) store the extracted data in a database for access fromwithout the distributed antenna system (DAS) over the Internet inresponse to a data access request, (4) and in response to a data accessrequest over the Internet from outside the distributed antenna system(DAS), package the data from the database into data packages accordingto the IP protocol or other internet protocol for transmission over theInternet. Of course, the head end unit (HEU) may also package the datainto data packages for transmission according to protocols other thanthe IP protocol or other Internet protocol in response to any requestfor data made from outside the distributed antenna system (DAS) over anyprivate or public network.

In applying the Internet of Things (IoT) teachings of this disclosure inthe realm of facilities management, person tracking, and employeelocation data gathering the automation system and data collectionsystems, and associated methods of this disclosure may be configured forperforming optimization activities within a building, as well as forperforming statistical and analytical operations on data. For example,predictive maintenance of systems in a building can be performed. Otherhigh level applications may involve tracking of people (employees,visitors, shoppers, etc.) and data on crowds, such as the whereabouts,movement, and location, as well as related behaviors. This data may bestored and analyzed as part of what is known today as data analytics,which can provide statistics and insights on behavior, preferences, andpredictions, using techniques such as pattern recognition and machinelearning.

In any teachings, this disclosure finds application in distributedantenna systems (DAS) comprising a fiber optic, coax, hybrid fiber coax,and other wired or wireless implementations.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detaileddescription which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the description or recognized by practicing theembodiments as described in the written description and claims hereof,as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are merely illustrative, and areintended to provide an overview or framework to understand the natureand character of the claims.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of thisspecification. The drawings illustrate one or more embodiment(s), andtogether with the description serve to explain principles and operationof the various embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative communicationssystem of the prior art configured to distribute communications signalswithin an installation, such as a building;

FIG. 2 depicts a prior art building automation system;

FIG. 3A depicts a first embodiment of an electrical element of the IoTautomation system of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B depicts a second embodiment of an electrical element of the IoTautomation system of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3C depicts a third embodiment of an electrical element of the IoTautomation system of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of a first embodiment of a remoteantenna unit (RAU) according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 depicts schematically an electrical element data packageaccording to the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 schematically depicts communications between an electricalelement and a remote antenna unit, using another embodiment of anelectrical element data package;

FIG. 7 depicts a first embodiment of an IoT automation system accordingto the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 depicts a second embodiment of an IoT automation system of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 9 depicts a data structure of an electrical element data collectorof this disclosure;

FIG. 10 depicts an illustrative memory map for the electrical elementdata collector shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 depicts an alternative illustrative memory map for theelectrical element data collector shown in FIG. 9

FIG. 12 depicts a method for automating a deployment site according tothis disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of thepresent disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated inthe figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, anddesigned in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which areexplicitly contemplated herein.

Broadly speaking, a system and method for automating a deployment siteserved by a distributed antenna system (DAS), and gathering data at thedeployment site, is disclosed. The deployment site is configured with aplurality of remote antenna units (RAU). At least one of the pluralityof remote antenna units includes a first transceiver for uplinking anddownlinking a signal of a cellular service and at least one secondtransceiver for uplinking and downlinking a signal of at least oneelectrical element. Data from the at least one second transceiverreceived from an electrical element (such as a wireless sensor (WS), inone embodiment) is collected and routed to an electrical element datacollector configured to aggregate the collected data. Adjustments to andoptimization of a device within the deployment site are based on thecollected data. Same addition here.

More specifically, technologies are described herein for systems andmethods to configure a distributed antenna system (DAS) having aplurality of remote antenna units for communication with electricalelements, as herein described, served by the distributed antenna systemor in the coverage area of the DAS. The distributed antenna system mayserve a specific area or site, such as a portion of a large building, abuilding or a site, or even a group of co-located buildings. A methodand system for improving and optimizing communication and controlaccording to this disclosure may include configuring a remote antennaunit with a first transceiver for uplinking and downlinking a signal ofa cellular service and with at least one second transceiver foruplinking (and in some cases, downlinking) a signal from electricalelements in the area served by the particular remote antenna unit. Theelectrical elements may be configured for one-way or two-way devices,using Bluetooth™, Bluetooth Low Energy™ (“BLE”), Wi-Fi, ZigBee™ as wellas a variety of other technologies that utilize other frequency bandsmay be used, such as the sub-GHz range like Z-WAVE, long-range (LoRa)frequencies such as SIGFOX, Thread and so forth.

Data from the electrical elements are collected by the IoT automationsystem of this disclosure and routed to a data collector configured tostore the collected data. In one illustrative embodiment, an IoTautomation controller executes instructions based on the collected datafor controlling building systems, based on the monitored conditions,such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting,safety, security, and utility meter reading, as well as devices withinsuch systems or other devices within the wireless distribution system

In describing more fully this disclosure, we make reference to thefollowing definitions:

By the term “communication service” is meant digital data servicesincluding but not limited to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, ZigBee™, SigFox,Lora, Thread, Ethernet, DSL, LTE, Wireless Access Points (WAPs), PCS,2G, 3G, 4G, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), Long Term Evolution (LTE),Remote Radio Heads (RRH), Radio over Fiber Optic Cable (RoF), OCS band,WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), LAN, CDMA,TDMA, GSM, WDM, Satellite radio, RFID, NFC, Wi-Gig and WLAN.

By the term “distributed antenna system” or DAS is meant an antennasystem that includes a plurality of spatially separated antennas. TheDAS may communicate with a variety of commercial communications systemsto distribute the services to clients within range of the distributedantenna system. The distributed antenna system may be an opticalfiber-based distributed antenna system, but such is not required, andthese systems may include both optical fibers and standard wiredcommunications cables, such as those with copper conductors. It will beappreciated that the distributed antenna system may be a wire-based or awireless system.

By the term “head end unit (HEU)” is meant a plurality of radiodistribution/combiner (RDCs) and a switching matrix for combining aplurality of communications signals into a broad band signal for furthertransmission, such as, but not limited to, transmission to an opticalinterface unit, and for splitting a broadband signal from an opticalinterface unit into individual communication signals

By the term “remote antenna unit (RAU)” or remote unit (“RU”) is meant adevice connected to an optical Interface module, or to a coax cable,that converts and filters a broadband optical signal into a narrowelectrical signal and vice versa. The RAU provides the wireless accessfront end.

By the term “electrical element” is meant the term electrical element asdescribed in connection with FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4. These electrical elementsmay be devices that include one or more sensors. These devices mayinclude user equipment, such as cell phones or smart phones. The devicesmay also include devices, such as equipment, sensors, or both in theserved area. For example, the equipment and sensors may include heatingand ventilating facilities, security apparatuses, utility meters,detectors for motion and or proximity and the like.

By the term “clients or recipients of these services” is meant devicessuch as cellular phones, smart phones, wireless computers, wirelesslap-top computers, mobile devices such as tablet computers, padcomputers, personal digital assistant, and wireless sensors or networksof sensors, such as mesh network sensors. These examples are notintended to be limiting, and the present disclosure is not limited tothese examples of client devices. More generally, a client is computerhardware or software that accesses a service made available by a server.

By the term “sensor” is meant a device that is in contact with anenvironment and that generates an electrical signal on detection of somequantity or condition of the environment. Examples may includeaccelerometers, temperature elements such as thermistors andthermocouples, pressure-sensing devices, and the like. These devices maysense and report on a temperature, a pressure, an atmospheric componentsuch as an O₂, CO or CO₂ percentage, and the like. Sensors may alsoinclude meters, e.g., utility consumption meters such as a water meter,an electrical meter, a gas meter and the like. Sensors may also includemotion sensors for detecting expected or unexpected movement,microphones for detecting expected or unexpected sound or noise, or theintensity or duration of the sound or noise. Video sensors, such ascameras, charge-coupled devices and the like can be used to detectexpected or unexpected movement, presence and the like. Sensors orelectrical elements may also include global positioning sensors (GPS), acompass or gyro, a power meter, proximity sensors and so forth.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts an example of a distributedantenna system (DAS) 100 for a first 101, a second 102 and a third 103floor, respectively, of a building 105. In this example a plurality ofcommunications services 110 are provided, such communications comingfrom first, second and third base stations 112 a, 112 b 112 c overcables 113 a, 113 b, 113 c respectively, from service providers. Theservices are input to a head end unit (HEU) 120 for routing throughdistributed antenna system 100. The distributed antenna system 100 iscontrolled by a computer 160 with operator input device 162. Thecomputer may include local memory and may have access to remote memory,as well as computer programs stored on at least one non-transitorymedium, either locally or remotely. The computer 160 may be connecteddirectly to the head end unit 120 and may be in control of otherelements of the distributed antenna system via wired connections orremotely, as shown. The computer system may also control an opticalinterface unit 125.

The communication services are illustratively routed through distributedantenna system 100 as shown in FIG. 1. Cable or hard wire outputs 118from the head end unit 120 may connect to the optical interface unit 125and then to interconnect units 130, 140, 150 for serving the first,second and third floors 101, 102, 103 of building 105. Interconnectunits 130, 140, 150 provide mechanical interfaces and power to the cableoutputs from the interconnect units.

The computer 160 may be used to control the head end unit, the opticalinterface unit and the interconnect units of the system. The computermay also control or monitor switches and switch matrices of the head endunit and optical interface unit useful in operation of distributedantenna systems. The computer may be supplied with a non-transitorymemory and a computer program useful for routing the signals through thesystem. Within each floor, the services are then provided separately, asshown. Thus, the first floor 101 may be provided, through itsinterconnect unit 130, with an Ethernet wire distribution 132, a Wi-Fihot spot 134, and a telecommunications antenna 136. In this example,similar services may be provided to the second and third floors 102,103, through their interconnect units 140, 150 with Ethernet lines 142,152, Wi-Fi hot spots 144, 154 and telecommunications antennas 146, 156.The Wi-Fi hot spot and/or telecommunications antenna may be provided bya remote antenna unit which may include an RF transmitter/receiver (notshown) and a respective antenna (not shown) operably connected to the RFtransmitter/receiver to wirelessly distribute the communicationsservices to user equipment (not shown). Examples of user equipmentinclude a cellular phone, a smart phone, or other device, such as atablet or a personal digital assistant.

FIG. 2 depicts an example of a prior art building automation system 200.The building automation system includes a transceiver 203 insidebuilding 201 for picking up wireless signals from an air conditioner,heating unit, or other equipment 202 in the building 200. The wirelesssignal is transmitted over wire 204 to controller 205 which determineswhether adjustments need to be made to the equipment 202 depending onthe data in the received wireless signal, Alternatively or additionally,controller 205 may also communicate via wire 206, transceiver 207, andbase station 208 with a remote controller 209 to allow control ofequipment 202 from a remote location based on data received from theequipment 205.

FIG. 2 further shows devices 211 and 214 within building 201 which arealso communicating with transceiver 203 for purposes of monitoring orcontrolling of devices 211 and 214 by controller 205. As shown, device214 is in direct communication with transceiver 203 via communicationlink 215. Device 211, however, is only able to communicate withtransceiver 203 indirectly through device 214 since it is outside thecoverage area of the transceiver 203. The additional power requirementson device 214 due to the relaying of messages from device 211 puts adrain on the power source of device 214.

Having thus provided an overview of a wireless distribution system, wenow turn to features provided by this disclosure. Broadly speaking, amethod and system for an automation and data gathering system for adeployment site, such as a building, may include configuring a remoteantenna unit of a distributed antenna system (DAS) deployed at thedeployment site with a first transceiver for uplinking and downlinking asignal of a cellular service and with at least one second transceiverfor uplinking and downlinking of a signal of non-cellular service suchas Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Z-WAVE, SigFox, Thread or ZigBee™ service from oneor more electrical elements. Data is collected from at least oneelectrical element configured for connecting to the remote antenna unit.The collected data is routed to an IoT automation controller configuredto determine adjustments to the automation system based on the receivedelectrical element data or on demand. In another embodiment, thecollected data may be sent to a data storage, to be used at a later timefor data analytics operations. The collected data may be stored in anelectrical element data collector which may be located in a database inthe head-end unit or elsewhere within or outside the distributed antennasystem (DAS) as explained below. The head end unit (HEU) provides agateway to and from this database to allow access to this data by apublic or private network over the Internet or in other ways asexplained below.

The data collected from an electrical element may relate to anymeasurable parameter in the building that may be monitored for activity,conditions or any kind of performance. For example, the gathered datamay concern utility consumption, e.g., the rate of usage of electricity,gas or water. The daily or hourly rate of utility usage may be comparedwith recent or historical usage, or with consumption limits, to trackthe consumption of the utility at the site or building in question. Thegathered data may concern motion that is detected during off-hours orduring business hours. The data may be used to detect intrusion into adeployment site, such as a building or a portion of a building or othersite. As discussed below, the electrical element may include a sensorfor providing data on temperature, pressure, atmospheric content orother physical variable. The data from the sensor may be used by theautomation system of this disclosure to gauge the health or safety ofthe site. The gathered data may also concern data on an appliance in theIoT automation system. The IoT automation system of this disclosure, maybe monitored and optimized based on the gathered data.

Alternatively, the data may be stored and/or accessed from outside thedistributed antenna system (DAS) as explained herein for use in similaror other analytics, data recording, generation of historical data,archival, administrative, or other purposes.

More specifically, the remote antenna units of this disclosure areconfigured with a first transceiver for providing a connection to acellular service for providing cellular service to the site. Thedistributed antenna system and the remote antenna units are alsoprovided with a second (or more) transceiver for providing a connectionto a second service for communication with one or more electricalelements as described herein. The second service may be a Blue Tooth LowEnergy (BLE), Z-WAVE, ZigBee™, Thread, Wi-Fi, and long range relatedprotocols (LORA) connection such as SIGFOX.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C depict illustrative electrical elements of thisdisclosure. FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate electrical elements including asensor. In other cases, as depicted in 3C, the electrical element neednot include a sensor. For example, many appliances, with which theInternet of Things (IoT) automation system of this disclosure may beused, need not include a sensor. Examples of such electrical elementsmay be household devices, such as a washing machine, toaster oven, dishwasher, copying machine, or any other device, that is equipped with acommunication ability, and that have its protocol supported by the IoTautomation system of this disclosure.

Turning more specifically to the drawings of FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C; FIG. 3Adepicts an electrical element according to this disclosure. Electricalelement 300 includes a sensor 301, a value register 303, a processor305, and in this embodiment, a radio transmitter 307. Electrical element300 further includes a power source 309, a frequency generator 311, anda protocol module 313. Electrical element may optionally also include ananalog to digital converter 315.

The sensor 301 may be any sensor or detector for sensing a conditionwithin the deployment site of the wireless distribution system, thedistributed antenna system or the particular remote antenna unit thatserves the sensor element 301. Sensor 301 may be a temperature elementfor sensing temperature, an element for sensing humidity, a motiondetector for sensing motion or presence in area, and so forth.

Sensor 301 generally operates in the following manner. The sensor 301 isconfigured to contact an environment and generate an electrical signalon detection of some quantity or condition of the environment. Forexample, a temperature sensor would generate an electrical signal ondetection of a temperature change. A humidity sensor would generate anelectrical signal on detection of humidity level change. The sensor maybe a strain gauge which would generate an electrical signal on detectionof a pressure or a movement of the sensor. The sensor may be a globalpositioning sensor which would generate an electrical signal based onthe calculation of its geo-position with respect to one or moresatellites. Other sensors may be used with this disclosure to generatean electrical signal on detection of other physical properties orconditions at the deployment site. Sensors may include consumptionmeters for monitoring on-site consumption of utilities, motiondetectors, smoke detectors, cameras, proximity sensors, O₂ sensors, CO(carbon monoxide) sensors, CO₂ (carbon dioxide) sensors, sound detectorsand the like.

The value register 303 may be a memory or other storage for storing theelectrical signal representation of the value of a condition or propertygenerated by the sensor. If the output from sensor 301 is the simplechange of the electrical output of the sensor, that change in statewould be stored in the value register which may be a flip flop or otherregister, in this example. If the electrical output of the sensor iseither a multi-bit digital representation or an analog signal fromsensor 301 that is converted into a digital signal by A/D converter 315,the value register 303 may be a conventional memory device.

The processor 305 may be a microprocessor, a microcontroller, or thelike. The processor is supported by memory (not shown) with instructionsfor controlling the transmitter 307, the protocol module 313, and one ormore of the other components of the electrical element 300.

The radio transmitter 307 may be a one-way radio transmitter suitablefor transmitting a radio signal indicative of the value of the elementsensed by the sensor element. Alternatively, and as illustrated in FIG.3B, the radio transmitter may be a transceiver capable of two-waycommunication with the remote antenna unit. The transmitter is adaptedto transmit on one or more frequencies or frequency bands as required bythe transmission protocol as discussed below.

The radio frequencies of the carrier and modulated signals that aretransmitted by the electrical element are generated by the frequencygenerator 311. The frequency generator thus provides the carrierfrequency of the channels or frequency bands in addition to thefrequency of the modulated signal of data that is carried by the carrierfrequency. For the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3A where theelectrical element is configured for broadcasting messages, the carrierfrequency or bands may include, for example, a Bluetooth channel, BlueTooth Low Energy (BLE) and long range related protocols (LORA).Long-range (LORA) frequencies may also be useful. These includefrequencies typically below 1 GHz, such as 868 MHz.

For the illustrative embodiment depicted in FIG. 3B where the electricalelement is configured for bi-directional communication, the carrierfrequency or bands may include a Wi-Fi channel, or other non-cellularband of radio frequencies.

Other communication service bands that may be used for the carrierfrequency of this disclosure include frequency ranges such as 400-700MHz, 700 MHz-1 GHz, 1 GHz-1.6 GHz, and 1.6 GHz-2.7 GHz.

The protocol module 313 is an electronic media containing a set ofinstructions for packaging and transmitting the data generated by thesensor. The data package is transmitted from the radio transmitter overa radio frequency generated by the frequency generator 311.

More specifically, the protocol module 313 includes circuitry andsoftware to implement a protocol. Examples of protocols includeBluetooth (BT), Blue Tooth Low Energy (BLE), long range frequencies(LoRa, also known as LoRaWAN, for wide area network), ZigBee™, or otherprotocols for enabling the electrical element to broadcast data from theradio transmitter to the second receiver of the remote antenna unit asdiscussed above. The protocol module 313 selects the suitable protocolto prepare and transmit messages. Other examples of useful protocolsinclude logical link control and adaptation protocol (L2CAP), Bluetoothnetwork encapsulation protocol (BNEP), radio frequency communication(RFCOMM), low energy security manager protocol (SMP), link managerprotocol (LMP), and so forth.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, the protocol module 313provides for uni-directional broadcast messaging of data from theelectrical element to the second receiver of the remote antenna unit. Inthe illustrative embodiment shown and described in connection with FIG.3B below, the protocol module shown therein provides for bi-directionalmessaging between the electrical element and the second receiver of theremote antenna and so in those embodiments may include protocols thatallow for bi-directional messaging such as WiFi and other non-cellularmessaging protocols.

The electrical element also includes the power source 309 to power theseveral elements of the sensor element. The power source may be abattery. Alternatively, power may be provided by an AC outlet in whichcase the electrical element may include a connector or a plug for such aconnector to the AC outlet. In either case, the processor 305 withassociated memory (not shown) may manage the power provided by the powersource to the other components of the electrical element by power savemode or sleep mode of operations. Such power management techniques andother power management techniques known to one skilled in the art may beused to provide management of the power provided by the power source inthe electrical element of this disclosure.

Some electrical elements 300 may also require and include theanalog-to-digital converter (ADC) 315 to convert the electrical signalrepresentation of the value of the condition or property generated bythe sensor into a digital data if the communication protocol of theelectrical element requires a digital format. More specifically, theanalog-to-digital converter 315 may be needed to convert analog readingsfrom the sensor 301 into digital values for storage into the valueregister or memory 303. In other instances, the simple change of theelectrical output of a sensor serves as a digital representation forstorage in the value register 303 and for packaging by the protocolmodule 313 into a data package for broadcast transmission from thetransmitter 307 to the second transceiver of the remote antenna unitpreviously discussed.

In operation, the electrical signal representation of the value of thecondition or property generated by the sensor 301 is stored in the valueregister 303. The frequency generator modulates this data and themodulated data is packaged by protocol module 313 into a data package.The data package is then broadcast by the transmitter 307 over thecarrier frequency generated by the frequency generator to the secondtransceiver of this disclosure. These operations illustrative occurunder the control of the processor 305.

FIG. 3B depicts another embodiment of an electrical element 330 whereinthe electrical element is configured for bi-directional communication.The electrical element 330 differs from electrical element 300 primarilyin that this electrical element 330 has a bi-directional transceiver337, rather than the transmitter 307 of electrical element 300 whichprovides only broadcast messaging. In addition, the protocol module 343of electrical element 330 includes protocols for bi-directionalcommunication unlike the protocol module 313 depicted in FIG. 3A whichis illustratively configured with protocols providing foruni-directional communication. Moreover, memory 333 is typically amemory device to support the greater memory requirements that may berequired for bi-directional communication.

Beyond the foregoing primary differences, the sensor element 331,processor 335, power source 339, frequency generator 341 and A/Dconverter 345 depicted in FIG. 3B illustrative perform similar functionsand operations as like components described in connection with FIG. 3Aand the descriptions of those components in FIG. 3A are applicable tothe description of like components in FIG. 3B.

Hence, in the illustrative embodiment shown and described in connectionwith FIG. 3B, the protocol module provides for bi-directional messagingbetween the electrical element and the second receiver of the remoteantenna and so in those embodiments may include non-cellular protocolsthat allow for bi-directional messaging such as WiFi and so forth. Incontrast, and as previously discussed, in the illustrative embodimentshown in FIG. 3A, the protocol module 313 provides only foruni-directional broadcast messaging of data from the electrical elementto the second receiver of the remote antenna unit.

One of the advantages of electrical element 330 is that thebi-directional communication provided by protocol module 343 andtransceiver 337 allows for the distributed antenna system (DAS) of thisdisclosure to control the electrical element 343 unlike in electricalelements which are configured only for broadcast messaging.

Electrical elements 300 and 330 may take the form factor of a tag or achip. Each may also take the form factor of a computing device. In thecase of electrical element 300 the computing device could be anycomputing device (e.g., smart phone, personal computer, or server)configured with a transmitter 307 to provide broadcast messaging. In thecase of electrical element 330, the computing device could be anycomputing device (e.g., smart phone, personal computer, or server)configured with a transceiver 337 which provides for bi-directionalcommunication.

Hence, electrical elements 300, 330 for use in this disclosure may takethe form factor of any computing device including user equipment includea cellular phone, a smart phone, or other device, such as a table or apersonal digital assistant. Of course, electrical elements 300, 330 inthe form factor of a tag or a chip may be widely used in the automationsystem of this disclosure.

FIG. 3C depicts an illustrative electrical element for use withappliances. For example, many appliances, with which the Internet ofThings (IoT) Automation System of this disclosure may be used, need notinclude a sensor. Examples of such electrical elements may be householddevices, such as a washing machine, toaster oven, dish washer, copyingmachine, or any other device, that is equipped with a communicationability, and that have its protocol supported by the IoT automationsystem of this disclosure. FIG. 3C contains the same elements as FIG. 3Aexcept for the sensor 301 described in FIG. 3A, and the function andoperation of these elements in FIG. 3C are as described in connectionwith FIB. 3A.

With the foregoing disclosure of electrical elements for use with thisdisclosure, we now turn to describing the use of these electricalelements in the automation system of this disclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts a first embodiment of a remote antenna unit (RAU) of asystem 500 according to the present disclosure employing one or moreelectrical elements 501, 502 as described above. More than onetransceiver type can be present on, in, or attached to, the RAU.

System 500 includes a remote antenna unit 511 for communication with awireless element 501, 502 for purposes of building automation as hereindescribed. FIG. 4 also shows a computer 503 and user equipment 505 alsoin communication with the remote antenna unit 511. Electrical elements501, 502, computer 503, and user equipment 505 use the remote antennaunit 511 for communicating with a head end unit (not shown) and aredeemed to be users of the remote antenna unit 511. The electricalelement 501 is the electrical element discussed above in connection withFIG. 3A with a capability of communicating one way with the remoteantenna unit 511 by a broadcast message to form a broadcast link 506with remote antenna unit 511 as discussed in FIG. 3A. Electrical element502 is the electrical element discussed above in connect with FIG. 3Bwith a capability of communicating bi-directionally to form abi-directional link 507 with remote antenna unit 511 as discussed inFIG. 3B. As previously discussed, electrical elements 501, 502 may takeany form factor including a tag, a chip, a user equipment, or othercomputing device. So long as the device includes the componentsdescribed in connection with FIG. 3 above, the device is an electricalelement for purposes of this disclosure.

The computer 503 may be a computing device, such as a personal computeror server, with a capability of communicating bi-directionally to form abi-directional link 508 a with remote antenna unit 511 within thecoverage area of remote antenna unit 511. The user equipment 505 may bea smart phone or similar or other type of user equipment, with acapability of communicating bi-directionally to form a bi-directionallink 508 b with remote antenna unit 511 within the coverage area of theremote antenna unit. Other examples of user equipment may include laptopcomputers, tablet computers, pad-type computer or other mobile devicesuseful to people working in the coverage area. Both computer 503 anduser equipment 505 are illustrative configured for bi-directionalcommunication as shown by bi-directional communication links 508 b and508 c, respectively. However, it will be appreciated that these userequipment may also include functionality configured for onlyuni-directional communication—namely, computer 503 and user equipment505 may be provided with functionality that is configured to onlybroadcast and not receive messages.

Advantageously, the remote antenna unit 511, which may be one of aplurality of remote antenna units distributed throughout the deploymentsite (e.g., different rooms of a building) as previously explainedcomprises a first transceiver 517 (which may be a cellular transceiverin one embodiment) configured for uplinking and downlinking a signal ofa cellular service; and a second transceiver 519 configured foruplinking a signal of at least one electrical element. Although FIG. 4shows a single wireless transceiver 519 as the second transceiver, inother embodiments, there may be additional second transceivers and theadditional second transceivers are not limited to wireless transceivers,but may be any type of transceiver. Cellular transceiver 517 andwireless transceiver 519 are radio receiver-transmitters suitable forsending and receiving radio signals of a remote antenna unit atrelatively low power, suitable for as the case may be for electricalelements, personal devices and cell phones used in homes and buildings,and not primarily intended for high-power radio broadcasting. In anotherembodiment, the cellular transceiver 517 may also be configured to sendand receive radio signals at a middle power level and/or at a high powerlevel.

The uplinked signals 509 a, 509 b from electric elements 501, 502, anduplinked signals 509 c, 510 a from computer 503 and user equipment 505,respectively, are combined by antenna combiner splitter 515. Antennacombiner splitter 515 may also split signals that are destined to theelectrical element 502, computer 503, and user equipment 505 but notelectrical element 501 which as previously explained is configured onlyfor broadcast messaging in this example. More specifically,combiner/splitter 515 comprises communications equipment for receivinguplink radio signals from electrical elements 501, 502, computer 503,and user equipment 505 and combining them into a signal for applicationto transceivers 517, 519, which discern the signals they are configuredto discern and process and apply those discerned and processed signalsto multiplexer 521 for further routing according to this disclosure.Antenna combiner/splitter 515 further comprises communications equipmentfor splitting downlink radio signals from transceivers 517, 519 androuting them to antenna 513 for broadcasting to electrical element 502,computer 503, and user equipment 505 but not electrical element 501which, as previously explained, is configured only for broadcastingmessages (i.e., it is not configured to downlink messages.) Although theembodiment of FIG. 4 shows the antenna combiner/splitter 515 and asingle antenna 513, there could be two separate antennas without acombiner/splitter in another embodiment.

The uplinked signals 509 a, 509 b from electric elements 501, 502,respectively, as well as the uplinked signal 509 c from computer 503 andany uplinked signal from user equipment 505 that is not a cellularsignal, are, in the combined signal from the antenna 513, advantageouslyrecognized and processed by the second transceiver 519 which isconfigured for uplinking signals non-cellular signals.Contemporaneously, the uplinked signals 510 a from user equipment 505which is a cellular signal—and other cellular signals picked up byremote antenna unit 511 from other user equipment in the coverage areaof the remote antenna unit—are, in the combined signal from the antenna513, advantageously recognized and processed by the first transceiver517 which is configured for uplinking cellular signals.

The uplinked signals 509 a, 509 b from electric elements 501, 502,respectively, and uplinked signals 509 c from computer 503 (and anynon-cellular signal from user equipment 505) so processed by the secondtransceiver 519 are multiplexed by multiplexer/demultiplexer 521 and themultiplexed signal 529 e is further processed by the automation systemof this disclosure as explained below. Similarly, the uplinked signal510 a from user equipment 505 signal—and other cellular signals pickedup by remote antenna unit 511 from other user equipment in the coveragearea of the remote antenna unit—are multiplexed by,multiplexer/demultiplexer 521 and the multiplexed signal 510 b isprocessed by the distributed antenna system (DAS) as also describedbelow.

In the downlink direction, multiplexer/demultiplexer 521 receivesdownlink signals from a head end unit (see FIG. 8) that are destined forthe electrical element 502, computer 503, and user equipment 505 (butnot electrical element 501 which only broadcasts but does not receiveany messages) and separates the signals for routing to the propertransceiver, whether the cellular transceiver 517 or the wirelesstransceiver 519. The multiplexer/demultiplexer does the same for thedownlinked cellular signals. System 500 thus connects electricalelements 501, 502, computer 503, and user equipment 505 with a singleantenna 513 of the remote antenna unit 511. Alternatively, two antennasmay be provided in place of the single antenna 513, a first antennatuned for pickup of uplink signals from electrical elements 501, 502 anddownlink signals to electrical element 502. Alternatively, the firstantenna may also be tuned for uplink and downlink of signals to computer503. A second antenna may be tuned for pickup of uplink signals andtransmission of downlink signals to user equipment 505. Alternatively,the second antenna may also be tuned for uplink and downlink of signalsto computer 503.

Within the remote antenna unit 511, the connections may be made by fiberoptic cable, by metallic conductor pairs, wirelessly, or a combinationof these, as desired and as convenient. Remote antenna unit 511 mayroute communications to the head end unit through a fiber optic cablethat comprises both voice and data signals. Alternatively, the head endunit may communicate wirelessly with the remote antenna unit.

An important consideration in this system is its longevity, especiallyas concerns system operation and battery life. The automation system ofthis disclosure may extend the life of electrical elements used in theautomation system because the electrical elements are in the line ofsite of remote antenna units which may be widely distributed throughouta deployment site. Hence, the electrical elements need not expend powerfor relaying messages from electrical elements that are not in the lineof site of a remote antenna unit of the distributed antenna system.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, a data package broadcast by anelectrical element may be compact, requiring a minimum of time togenerate, prepare and transmit. The data package depicted in FIG. 5 maybe broadcast by the transmitter 307 in FIG. 3A or the transceiver 337 inFIG. 3B. In this example, the data package may include an identification601 of the device, such as the particular electrical element, and thedata 603 itself, e.g., an electrical representation of temperature froma temperature element, an indication of motion from a motion sensor, andso forth. In other embodiments, as shown by the phantom lines in FIG. 5,the data package may include an indication of battery life 605 or otherdata 607, as desired. The battery life may provide the automation systemof this disclosure with useful information on the status of batteries inelectrical elements deployed throughout the deployment site. The batterylevels of the electrical elements may be monitored and any batteryfailures may be immediately identified so that the electrical elementhaving the battery issue or the battery source of an electrical elementmay be replaced.

The field for other data 607 may include additional information aboutthe electrical element such as the destination address of the electricalelement or some other information. The destination address may be usedby the automation system of this disclosure for purposes of addressingmessages if the electrical element is one that is configured forbi-directional communication. As another example, the field for otherdata 607 may include data on the performance of components in theelectrical element. For example, the data may indicate the time of dayeach reading of a parameter is taken by the sensor of the electricalelement, if the sensor is configured for sampling. The automation systemof this disclosure may collect and use this and other data included indata field 607 in making adjustments to electrical elements in theautomation system, adjustments to systems such as a heater, an airconditioner, video-surveillance, elevators, and so on, and adjustmentsto electrical elements in the form factor of computing devices.

In another embodiment, longer battery life of the electrical sensors isaided because the processor 305, 335 of electrical elements 300, 330,respectively, may manage their respective power source by employing lowpower mode or sleep mode of operation. In the case of sleep mode, timersmay wake up the electrical element for the purpose of broadcasting amessage or if the electrical element is configured for bi-directionalcommunication, to receive incoming messages.

FIG. 6 depicts a communication link 700 between an electrical element701, such as a wireless sensor, and an in-range remote antenna unit(RAU) 707 with which a communication link is made. This example isconsistent with the design of an electrical element 300 in FIG. 3A sinceit shows communication occurring only as an uplink message that isbroadcast by the electrical element. The link allows for communicationsbetween the electrical element and the components of the automationsystem of this disclosure in the manner described below.

On the electrical element side of the link and as noted, the electricalelement 701 configured according to FIG. 3A in this example includes aprotocol module which includes an electronic media with instructions toexecute a particular protocol such as Bluetooth™ An illustrativeBluetooth™ Low Energy (BLE) module 703, may be one that is marketed asBluetooth™ Smart. This is a wireless personal area network technologydesigned for reduced-power transmission within a limited range,typically using a 2.4 GHz frequency. Devices with this technology areavailable from a number of manufacturers and using a variety ofoperating systems, including Android 4.3, iOS 5 and later, BlackBerry10, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8.1 etc. Manufacturers with chipsetsoptimized for Bluetooth Smart include Texas Instruments,STMicroelectronics, Nordic Semiconductor, Dialog Semiconductor andCambridge Silicon Radio. Other commercially available modules configuredto execute one or more of the protocols described for use withelectrical elements as previously described are also available and maybe used with this disclosure. Of course, in an alternative embodimentusing an electrical element depicted in FIG. 3B, the communication couldbe bi-directional and the protocol module would be provided with one ormore protocols for bi-directional communication with the remote antennaunit.

On the remote antenna unit 707 side of the communication link, theremote antenna unit 707 includes the wireless transceiver 709 along withthe cellular transceiver (not shown). As depicted in FIG. 6, thewireless transceiver may include a stack of instances configured toexecute the different protocols with which the wireless transceiver 711may be used. In the illustrative example depicted in FIG. 6, the stack711 of the wireless transceiver 709 is configured with the applicationsnecessary for executing the BLE, Lora, Bluetooth, ZigBee™, WiFi, andother protocols useful for deciphering messages from the electricalelement. The remote antenna unit 707 may execute the appropriateapplication to communicate with the protocol used by the incomingmessage.

FIGS. 7-8 depict embodiments of the automation system of thisdisclosure. An illustrative embodiment is system 800 in FIG. 7. Wirelessdistribution system 800 is intended to serve one or more electricalelements 801, computers 803 and user equipment 805, such as smartphones. One-way broadcast messaging is depicted by communication link807 a established by electrical element 801 and bi-directional messagingis depicted by communication links 807 b,c,d established by electricalelement 802, computer 803, and user equipment 805. The dashed-lineindicates the path 809 a,b,c,d that is taken by the non-cellular signalsreceived from electrical element 801, 802 computer 803, and userequipment 805. For more on the function and operation of the antenna813, antenna combiner 815, electrical element transceiver 819, andmultiplexer 821, refer to the discussion in connection with likecomponents depicted in FIG. 4. The path taken by cellular communicationsignal 810 a from the user equipment 805 through the remote antenna unit811 is shown by the dot-dash-dot line in FIG. 7. For more about thecommunication links and paths taken by the signals generated by elements801, 802, computer 803, and user equipment 805 through the remoteantenna unit of this disclosure, and the operation of the variouscomponents of the remote antenna unit on these signals, refer to thediscussion in connection with FIG. 4.

As described in FIG. 4, the output from multiplexer/demultiplexer 821includes multiplexed signals of two kinds—multiplexed cellular signalsand multiplexed non-cellular signals. The multiplexed cellular signalsare depicted by the dash-dot-dash line 810 b and the multiplexednon-cellular signals are depicted as dashed-line 809 e. These signalstravel to the head end unit 831 on optical fibers, on one fiber of atwo-conductor optical fiber, on one conductor of a twisted-pair metallicconductor, or on other suitable conductor between the remote antennaunit 811 and head end unit 831.

As seen in FIG. 7, at the head end unit 831, the multiplexed cellularsignals are demultiplexed by multiplexer/demultiplexer 833 andwirelessly transmitted to cellular base stations 851 in a manner wellknown in the art. In other embodiment, the transmission of the cellularsignals to the cellular base stations 851 may be via wiredtransmissions. On the reverse or downlink path,multiplexer/demultiplexer 833 multiplexes the signals received from thebase stations for transmission to the remote antenna units and theclients covered by the remote antenna units of the distributed antennasystem.

The multiplexed non-cellular signals on path 809 e are alsodemultiplexed by multiplexer/demultiplexer 833. If the non-cellularsignals are from electrical elements of this disclosure they may berouted to the IoT automation controller 839 either through physicalmedia 829 or to wireless interface 837 through wireless link 845. If thenon-cellular signals are other non-cellular signals, such as a WiFicommunication between computer 803 or user equipment 805 and theInternet, the signal may be routed to the wireless interface 837 fortransmission over path 838 to a hotspot that connects that WiFicommunication with the Internet (not shown). Alternative transmissionover 838 may be to a hotspot that connects to another intra-network orinternetwork.

The data from the electrical elements may be stored in electricalelement data collector 841. The electrical element data collector may belocated in a database in the head-end unit or elsewhere in thedistributed antenna system (DAS). The head end unit (HEU) provides anInternet gateway to and from this database to allow access to this databy a public or private network over the Internet. Addressing thisInternet gateway may be by the Internet address assigned to the head endunit (HEU). Hence, the electrical element data collector may be accessedfrom anywhere over the Internet by simply addressing a request to the IPaddress of the head end unit (HEU). Of course, the electrical elementdata collector may also be accessed by any private or public network byother than over the Internet.

Alternatively, the electrical element data collector may be locatedremotely from the distributed antenna system. For example, theelectrical element data collector may be located on a computing devicein the “cloud” and be accessible from within and without the distributedantenna system (DAS) over the Internet. As another example, theelectrical element data collector may be located on a computing devicethat is accessible through a private or public network other than overthe Internet.

The electrical element data collector 841 may be implemented in anynumber of ways. The electrical element data collector 841 may include amicroprocessor and a memory (not shown) for processing the data andcontrolling, improving or optimizing some aspect of the deployment site.Ways in which the memory may be implemented include, by way of exampleand not of limitation, nonvolatile memories (NVM), read-only memories(ROM), random access memories (RAM), any combination of these, etc.

Memory may include programs containing instructions for execution by IoTautomation controller 839 or other processors that may be included inthe automation system of this disclosure. The programs provideinstructions for execution by the IoT automation controller, and canalso include instructions regarding protocols and decision makinganalytics, and/or business intelligence features, etc., that can be usedby IoT automation controller in determining and issuing instructionswithin the IoT automation system. These instructions are illustrativelyissued by IoT automation controller to building systems 843 or deviceswithin such systems. Building systems 843 may include heating systems,cooling systems, security systems, elevator systems, or any other systemused in the building or site at which the distributed antenna system ofthis disclosure is deployed. Alternatively, these instructions may beissued by IoT automation controller 839 to electrical elements withinthe IoT automation system that are configured for bi-directionalcommunication. If the electrical element is in the form factor of acomputing device, these instructions may be issued to computing deviceswithin the network.

In short, this disclosure advantageously provides a distributed antennasystem that is configured to route cellular signals to cellular basestations 851 and to route non-cellular signals to a deployment sitecontroller, such as a IoT automation controller 839 for use incontrolling building systems, computing devices that are part of thebuilding system, electrical elements of this disclosure, includingelectrical elements in the form factor of a computing device. In thisway, the automation system of this disclosure may illustratively monitorand control systems and devices with such systems and electricalelements, including electrical elements in the form factor of computingdevices, within or about a building or any other site at which thedistributed antenna system of this disclosure is employed. For example,electrical elements may be distributed throughout a building to measuretemperature and humidity throughout the building. The data from theseelectrical elements may then be used to control a building system 843that is an air-conditioning system. The electrical element datacollector 841 may then decide that the data suggests that additionalheating, additional cooling, or a different set point for the heating orcooling of a room in the building is required. The controller 839 maythen issue a command to the air conditioning system 843 that instructsthe air conditioning system to increase or decrease the cooling outputof a cooling device in that system, or set a different set point orother parameter for the cooling of the building. As another example, IoTautomation controller 839 may rely on protocols and decision makinganalytics, etc. in determining the on and off times of the airconditioning system and one or more devices that make up the system. Forexample, the IoT automation controller may turn on or off individual airconditioning units in different parts of the building or open and closevents, where automated, throughout air conditioning system in thebuilding to provide better flow and distribution of cool air throughoutthe building.

The IoT automation controller of this disclosure may be configured todetermine adjustments to the air conditioning system or other systems ordevices with the automation system based on the received electricalelement data or on demand. Similarly, the IoT automation controller maybe configured to determine adjustments to electrical elements of thisdisclosure including electrical elements in the form factor of acomputing device. In the foregoing and other way, this disclosureconfigures a remote antenna unit to serve as an IoT hub which is incommunication with electrical elements and electrical elements in theform factor of computing devices as well as devices that make up thebuilding system 843 and that are in the coverage area of the remoteantenna unit. In other words, where the electrical elements areconfigured for bi-directional communication, the IoT hub of thisdisclosure allows electrical elements to be controlled from the IoT hub.This in additional to the control by the IoT hub of devices within thebuilding systems 843.

In addition, the IoT hub may further control any device in the coveragearea of the IoT hub that is in wireless communication with the IoT hub.More specifically, if a device is configured for bi-directionalcommunication it may be in communication with and be controlled throughthe IoT hub even though that computing device may not include a sensoror other component that make up the electrical element of thisdisclosure.

Another embodiment of an IoT automation system according to the presentdisclosure is depicted in FIG. 8. Automation system 900 includesmultiple remote antenna units 911, 913, 915, 917 which are arranged sothat each electrical element (e.g., wireless sensor WS) in the buildingor deployment site is in the line of sight of one of the remote antennaunits. Although FIG. 8 shows the multiple remote antenna units 911, 913,915, 917 arranged so that each electrical element (e.g., wireless sensorWS) in the building or deployment site is in the line of sight, being inthe line of sight is not necessarily required in all embodimentsdescribed herein. That is to say, each electrical element is within thecoverage area of a remote antenna unit. In this embodiment, eachelectrical element (e.g., WS) is in direct communication with a remoteantenna unit. In other words, no electrical element (e.g., WS) needserve (although it can) as a relay to communicate signals from anotherelectrical element to the remote antenna unit. This architecture helpsto conserve battery life for all the electrical elements that aredeployed as part of the system since each electrical element need onlybroadcast its own messages.

System 900 includes a distributed antenna system head end unit 901 incommunication with one or more cellular telephone provider base stations903 for providing cellular voice and data communications services. Headend unit 901 communicates with a plurality of remote antenna units 913,915, 917 through a plurality of conductors or media 919, which may befiber optic cable, twisted-pair conductors, coaxial cable, or otherconvenient conductors. Head end unit 901 is also in contact with adeployment site controller 905 which controls the systems 907 (e.g., airconditioning, heating, security, etc.) that may be included in theautomation system depicted in FIG. 8. Alternatively, deployment sitecontroller 905 may be configured to control systems at other deploymentsites. In some embodiments, IoT automation controller 905 may also beequipped with a wireless interface 909 for direct communications withone or more of the wireless sensors. Elements 901, 903, 905, 907, and909 in FIG. 8 have like function and operation to like elements depictedin FIG. 7.

As seen in FIG. 8, remote antenna units 911, 913 are in direct wirelesscontact with a plurality of electrical elements (e.g., wireless sensorsWS). In each of the coverage areas provided by remote antenna units 911,913, and 915, the electrical elements (e.g., wireless sensors) may, inone embodiment, configured for broadcast messaging only (i.e., one-waycommunication with the remote antenna unit.) In the coverage areaprovided by remote antenna unit 917, the electrical elements (e.g.,wireless sensors) may be, in one embodiment, configured forbi-directional messaging. A user equipment 923 is also shown in thecoverage area. However, as previously explained, the electrical elementmay have the form factor of a user equipment or other computing device.For example, an electrical element configured for bi-directionalcommunication according to FIG. 3B may be in the form factor of a userequipment. Alternatively, a computing device or user equipment may beconfigured to provide broadcast messaging by an application or otherwisein which case that computing device or user equipment may serve as anelectrical element providing broadcast messaging as described in FIG.3A.

One advantage of the automation system of this disclosure is that itleverages the wireless footprint of a distributed antenna system (DAS)implemented in a building or other deployment site for buildingautomation purposes. The wide distributed footprints attainable with adistributed antenna system make it possible to distribute electricalelements throughout a deployment site in a way that the electricalelements may be within the line of sight of at least one radio antennaunit of the distributed antenna system, although being in the line ofsight is not necessarily required. This means that less power isrequired for an electrical element to message a receiver of anautomation system since the electrical elements may be positioned withinthe building for quality reading of parameters at ideal powerrequirements.

As explained, the information gathered by the wireless distributionsystem, as discussed above, is collected by the electrical element datacollector of FIG. 7. The data collector 841 shown in FIG. 7 collects andorganizes data from electrical elements through the distributed antennasystem and the remote antenna units. Data collector 841 may include amicrocontroller for controlling and organizing the flow of data into thecollector and storing it. Storage or memory is provided in the datacollector.

As seen in FIGS. 9-11, memory in the data collector 841 may be organizedto store data from each remote antenna unit served by the distributedantenna system. FIG. 9 depicts a data structure for the data collector841 of FIG. 7, including a registry 1110 for RAU1, and similarregistries or storage files 1120 through 1180 for each of the other RAUsas shown. However, the data need not be organized this way, and may beorganized in any convenient manner. For example, the data may beorganized by type of electrical element, or as desired, with theparticular RAU being data associated with the electrical element. Otherways may also be used to organize and store the data.

An illustrative data organizational structure for the registry 1110 forRAU1 is detailed in FIG. 10. RAU1 registry 1110 includes all thegathered data for the electrical elements that are routed through theRAU1. As shown, the data may be organized by each user, e.g., a registry1210 for electrical element 1. RAU1 registry 1110 may also includeregistries 1220 through 1280 for electrical elements 2 through 8, inthis embodiment.

In the illustrative data structure shown in FIG. 11, the registries maybe organized as desired for convenience or for emphasis on theimprovements perceived as needed for the distributed antenna system or aparticular component or system element. Important data parameters fromthe electrical element may be organized or stored in these or otherways. Other parameters, such as performance parameters for theelectrical element, may also be gathered and stored.

Data may be further organized and stored for each electrical element,such as the registry 1210 for electrical element 1, as depicted in FIG.11. This figure depicts a plurality of data points 1310-1380, each pointconsisting of a datum, e.g., a temperature reading, a pressure reading,a proximity reading, an on/off reading, and the like. The data pointsmay be organized as sequential in time, organized by one or more sensorsif the electrical element has more than one sensor element, and soforth. The data may be used, as stated, in computer programs stored inan IoT automation controller, such as IoT automation controller 839(FIG. 7) for optimizing communications and controlling desired aspectsof the building or other deployment site for the wireless distributionsystem. The data may be employed in algorithms in the software tooptimize network communications and desired aspects of the site.

A method for maintaining communications and optimizing a device within adeployment site is depicted in FIG. 12. In the method 1400 of FIG. 12, aremote antenna unit is configured 1401 with a first transceiver foruplinking and downlinking a signal of a cellular service and with atleast one second transceiver for at least one of uplinking anddownlinking a signal of at least one electrical element. The at leastone electrical element is configured for connecting to the remoteantenna unit and for communicating with the one or more secondtransceivers. Data is then collected 1403 from the at least oneelectrical element. As discussed above, the at least one electricalelement may be in the form factor of a smart sensor, user equipment, orother electrical device for sensing and reporting data about aparameter. The collected data is then routed 1405 to an electricalelement data collector for aggregating the data. This data may then beused to determine adjustments 1407 or action to be taken within thedeployment site, such as a building, based on the data. The device orits use may then be optimized 1409 based on the data.

As discussed above with respect to FIG. 4, a remote antenna unitaccording to the present disclosure includes capabilities for at leasttwo radio services, a cellular service and a non-cellular service forcommunicating data at least from the electrical elements. The method ofFIG. 12 may be useful in demonstrating how the at least two serviceswork together to allow use of the remote antenna units for normalcellular service and for reporting conditions within the building orother deployment site for the wireless distribution system. Thisdisclosure shows how the remote antenna units can track conditionswithin the deployment site and may be used to improve or optimizeoperation of building systems or devices employed within the deploymentsite.

Data can be gathered from each electrical element nearby the remoteantenna unit. The data may be routed to a data collector and to anoptimization controller and may be very helpful in monitoring andoptimizing equipment within the deployment site of a remote antennaunit. This educates a distributed antenna system about what is going onwith site equipment or conditions, such as building conditions, in thedistributed antenna system coverage area. Without this disclosure, thedistributed antenna system may know little about equipment or conditionsin a building. With this disclosure, the distributed antenna system canintegrate and monitor a great variety of electrical elements and siteequipment to provide building automation. The building or deploymentsite can take advantage of this disclosure with installation of only theelectrical elements and the programming required to integrate theelectrical elements into the distributed antenna system. Conventionalbuilding automation systems in contrast may require extensive deploymentof transceivers, wiring, etc. which may be expensive. The distributedantenna system thus can be used to even greater advantage in virtuallyany situation that could benefit from building automation.

By integrating electrical elements into a distributed antenna system asprovided by this disclosure the distributed antenna system is providedwith information about the deployment site and conditions in thecoverage area of the distributed antenna system. With sufficientelectrical elements and the proper integration, the distributed antennasystem modified to include the IoT automation controller, electricalelement data collector, the disclosed routing, and connection withbuilding systems and devices within the building is able to monitor agreat variety of conditions within the deployment site, and alsoconcerning equipment and processes within the site. As noted, these mayinclude conditions of temperature, humidity, air composition, noise,light, smoke, movement, and the like. Utility consumption can bemonitored, movement of devices and equipment can be tracked, door andwindow openings and closings can be monitored, all without having toprovide infrastructure, such as wiring each piece of equipment or sensorinto the system. The use of the automation system according to thisdisclosure thus affords many advantages for operators of the deploymentsite and the distributed antenna system.

By this disclosure, the infrastructure of a Wireless Distribution System(WDS) and its Distributed Antenna System (DAS) is shared betweenproviding wireless connectivity to clients in a building and monitoringand controlling an automation system for a deployment site. Thisinfrastructure for the site provides wireless service for a building, awing or a floor of the building, or for several closely-spaced smallerbuildings. A head end unit of the DAS and one or more remote antennaunits provide communications between wireless sensors or otherelectrical elements that monitor conditions within the deployment site.The WDS transmits data from the electrical elements to a data collector.A controller uses the data to monitor and control conditions within thedeployment site, with no requirement for additional infrastructure. Theinfrastructure of the WDS and the DAS is used as a shared resource toprovide wireless services and to control the site environment.

As a result of sharing the already-installed infrastructure, anautomation system is easily installed with little additionalinfrastructure. The user devices and personal devices described abovemay be deployed as electrical elements, with the already-installedinfrastructure providing lines of communication between the electricalelements and the appropriate building systems. Examples are buildingenvironmental controls, monitoring systems, security systems, and thelike. By sharing existing systems, the capital expenditures areminimized, with little need for additional installation expenses, suchas wiring. With fewer runs, a smaller infrastructure and a moreefficient operation, operating expenses are also minimized. The sharedsystem may be considered as an internet of things application or aninternet of things system.

The improved connectivity of the present disclosure thus enablesunidirectional or bidirectional communication of a plurality ofelectrical elements with a remote antenna unit of a distributed antennasystem, the systems of a wireless distribution system and thecontrollers for automating a deployment site of the wirelessdistribution system. This connectivity is achieved without having towire the deployment site, such as building, and takes advantage of theinfrastructure already available from a wireless distribution system andits distributed antenna system. In one sense then, the presentdisclosure advances an internet of things (IoT) concept for greatervalue and service to the users or occupants of the deployment site, bybetter connecting devices, systems and services as described herein.

Thus, the present disclosure provides a method and system for optimizingconnectivity in a deployment site for a wireless distribution system(WDS) with a distributed antenna system (DAS). The deployment site makesuse of one or more remote antenna units (RAUs) for connecting usershaving user equipment, such as cell phones, smart phone, tablecomputers, and the like. The deployment site includes electricalelements, which may include sensors, for connecting with the one or moreremote antenna units. The disclosure includes simultaneous monitoring bythe distributed antenna system of this disclosure of the deployment sitefor these electrical elements through the one or more remote antennaunits. The disclosure includes configuring the remote antenna unit witha first transceiver for uplinking and downlinking a signal of a cellularservice and with at least one second transceiver for uplinking and,where the electrical element provides for bi-directional communication,downlinking of the signal to the electrical elements using a radioservice, such as, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi, LoRa, Thread,or ZigBee™ service, depending upon whether the electrical elementprovides for unidirectional or bidirectional communication. Data iscollected from the electrical elements configured for connecting to theremote antenna unit. The collected data is routed to a data collectorconfigured to aggregate the gathered data. The aggregated data may becorrelated and used in order to improve the automated control of thedeployment site or to improve communications and connectivity within thesite. The network may be optimized based on the correlated data.

The foregoing automation system and method enable a distributed antennasystem (DAS) to illustratively provide an Internet of Things (IoT) hub.Illustratively, the remote antenna unit (RAU) of the distributed antennasystem (DAS) may provide the Internet of Things (IoT) hub with the headend unit (HEU) providing a gateway to the Internet that receives datafrom the remote antenna units (RAUs) from within a deployment site andstores the data in a database for access from without the distributedantenna system (DAS) by a public or private network over the Internet.In this illustrative example, the head end unit (HEU) also functions asan IP translator that may (1) receive data from the remote antenna unit(RAU) communicated in any of a number of protocol formats (e.g., BlueTooth Low Energy (BLE), Z-WAVE, ZigBee™, Wi-Fi, Thread, and long rangerelated protocols (LoRa) connection such as SIGFOX; as well asbi-directional protocols, such as WiFi), (2) extract that data from suchprotocol(s), (3) store the extracted data in a database for access fromwithout the distributed antenna system (DAS) over the Internet inresponse to a data access request, (4) and in response to a data accessrequest over the Internet from outside the distributed antenna system(DAS), package the data from the database into data packages accordingto the IP protocol or other internet protocol for transmission over theInternet. Of course, the head end unit (HEU) may also package the datainto data packages for transmission according to protocols other thanthe IP protocol or other Internet protocol in response to any requestfor data made from outside the distributed antenna system (DAS) over anyprivate or public network.

In applying the Internet of Things (IoT) teachings of this disclosure inthe realm of facilities management, the automation system and method ofthis disclosure may be configured for performing optimization activitieswithin a building. In any teachings, this disclosure finds applicationin distributed antenna systems (DAS) comprising a fiber optic, coax,hybrid fiber coax, and other wired or wireless implementations.

In one embodiment, this disclosure includes an automation system for adeployment site. The automation system includes a wireless distributionsystem configured with a distributed antenna system (DAS) for receivingat least one cellular service from at least one base station, thedistributed antenna system (DAS) comprising a head end unit (HEU) and aplurality of remote antenna units (RAU), the plurality of remote antennaunits (RAU) being distributed over the deployment site, the head endunit (HEU) being configured for routing the at least one cellularservice to the plurality of remote antenna units (RAU). At least one ofthe plurality of remote antenna units includes a first transceiverconfigured for uplinking and downlinking a signal of a cellular serviceand at least one second transceiver configured for uplinking a signal ofat least one electrical element. The at least one remote antenna unitalso includes an electrical element at or about the deployment siteconfigured to generate an electrical signal on the occurrence of anevent and to transmit the generated signal to the at least one secondtransceiver. The system also includes a router configured for connectingto the at least one of the plurality of remote antenna units, the routerconfigured for routing data from the at least one second transceiverreceived from the electrical element and an automation controllerconfigured to determine adjustments to the automation system based onthe received electrical element data or on demand.

In some embodiments, the at least one second transceiver is furtherconfigured to downlink a signal to the electrical element. In someembodiments, the electrical element is further configured to execute aninstance of a data service configured to collect data on the event. Insome embodiments, the system also includes an electrical element datacollector configured to aggregate the collected electrical element data.In some embodiments, the automation controller is further configured tocorrelate the aggregated data to determine adjustments to the automationsystem based on the correlated data. In some embodiments, the electricalelement comprises a sensor element, a processor, a value register, aprotocol module, and a transmitter. In some embodiments, the electricalelement further comprises an A/D converter. In some embodiments, theelectrical element comprises a sensor element, a processor, a memory, aprotocol module, and a transmitter/receiver. In some embodiments, theprotocol module comprises circuitry and software to implement a protocolselected from the group consisting of Blue Tooth Low Energy (BLE) andlong range related protocols (LoRa). In some embodiments, the protocolmodule comprises circuitry and software to implement a protocol selectedfrom the group consisting of Blue Tooth Low Energy (BLE), long rangerelated protocols (LoRa), and WiFi. In some embodiments, the long rangefrequencies (LoRa) are frequencies in a sub-G domain of frequencies.

In some embodiments, the distributed antenna system (DAS) provides anIoT hub. In some embodiments, the automation controller is furtherconfigured for performing optimization activities within a building. Insome embodiments, the optimization activities include instructing achange in configuration or control of at least one piece of buildingequipment. In some embodiments, the collected electrical element data isaccumulated over a period of time. In some embodiments, the collecteddata is mapped against criteria of the at least one building equipmentfor use in changing the settings of the at least one building equipment.In some embodiments, the mapping occurs in real time.

Another embodiment of this disclosure is a method. This is a method forautomating a site served by a distributed antenna system (DAS) forreceiving at least one service from at least one base station, thedistributed antenna system (DAS) comprising a head end unit (HEU) and aplurality of remote antenna units (RAU), the plurality of remote antennaunits (RAU) being distributed over the site, the head end unit (HEU)being configured for routing the at least one service to the pluralityof remote antenna units (RAU). The method includes steps of configuringthe site with a plurality of remote antenna units (RAU), at least one ofthe plurality of remote antenna units comprising a first transceiver foruplinking and downlinking a signal of a cellular service and at leastone second transceiver for uplinking a signal or data of at least oneelectrical element. The method also includes collecting data from the atleast one second transceiver received from an electrical element,routing the collected data to an electrical element data collectorconfigured to aggregate the collected data, determining adjustments to adevice within the site based on the collected data and optimizing thedevice based on the collected data.

In some embodiments, the at least one second transceiver of the at leastone of the plurality of remote antenna units is further configured todownlink a signal to the at least one electrical element. In someembodiments, the adjustments to the device are determined by anoptimization controller. In some embodiments, the method furtherincludes generating an electrical signal by the at least one electricalelement upon occurrence of an event. In this situation, the element is asensor selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, atemperature sensor, a motion sensor, a consumption sensor, a utilitymeter, a power sensor, a power management sensor, a magnetic sensor, apressure sensor, a proximity sensor, a direction sensor and a globalpositioning sensor. In some embodiments, the electrical elementcomprises a sensor element, a processor, a value register, a protocolmodule and a transmitter adapted for communicating with the at least onesecond transceiver. In some embodiments, the electrical elementcomprises a sensor element, a processor, a memory, a protocol module anda receiver/transmitter, the electrical element adapted for two-waycommunications with the at least one second transceiver.

In some embodiments, the electrical element further comprises at leastone user equipment, the at least one user equipment further comprising amultiple application processor, a wireless service processor and amemory; each of the multiple application processor, the wireless serviceprocessor and the memory configured for communicating data to the atleast one second transceiver of the remote antenna unit. In someembodiments, the at least one electrical element comprises a pluralityof sensors. In some embodiments, the collected data comprises at leastone datum selected from the group consisting of a temperature, amovement, an indicator of consumption, a direction, a magnetic field, apressure, proximity and a location. In some embodiments, the methodfurther includes accumulating and averaging the collected data over aperiod of time. In some embodiments, the method further comprisingconfiguring a head end unit to uplink and downlink the signal of atleast one cellular service and configuring the head end unit to uplinkdata from the electrical element. In some embodiments, the methodfurther includes configuring the head end unit to downlink data to theelectrical element. In some embodiments, the method further includessending a signal to a third party based on a signal from the at leastone electrical element.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a method. The methodconcerns automating a deployment site served by a distributed antennasystem (DAS) for receiving at least one service from at least one basestation, the distributed antenna system (DAS) comprising a head end unit(HEU) and a plurality of remote antenna units (RAU), the plurality ofremote antenna units (RAU) being distributed over the deployment site,the head end unit (HEU) being configured for routing the at least oneservice to the plurality of remote antenna units (RAU). The methodincludes configuring the deployment site with a plurality of remoteantenna units (RAU), at least one of the plurality of remote antennaunits being configured with a first transceiver for uplinking anddownlinking a signal of a cellular service and with at least one secondtransceiver for uplinking a signal or data of at least one electricalelement. The method also includes collecting data from the at least onesecond transceiver received from an electrical element, routing thecollected data to an electrical element data collector configured toaggregate the collected data. The method also includes determiningadjustments to a remote device connected to the at least one electricalelement based on the aggregated data and adjusting the remote devicebased on the aggregated data.

In some embodiments, the deployment site is a building. In someembodiments, the remote device is selected from the group consisting ofa heating system, a ventilation system, an alarm system, an IoT systemand a utility system.

The disclosure uses the capabilities of the WDS and DAS in a deploymentor served site to monitor and control aspects of the deployment site viareadily-connected user equipment and electrical elements. Thisdisclosure takes advantage of an existing WDS/DAS infrastructure tosupport building automation and wireless sensors in general. In oneaspect, the distributed antenna system includes one or more remoteantenna units (RAU's), each RAU including a first wireless transceiverfor cellular communications for user equipment served by the RAU. TheRAU may also include one or more wireless transceivers or transmittersthat communicate with wireless sensors using one or more of the wirelesscommunication standards used in this field and provides communicationlinks between the wireless sensors and the building automation centralcontroller. One advantage of the installed infrastructure of a wirelessdistribution system, including a distributed antenna system, is that thedistributed antenna system becomes a shared resource between thewireless distribution system and an automated system for monitoring andcontrolling one or more aspects of the deployment site, without addingadditional infrastructure. This sharing contributes to lower capitalexpenditures on startup and to lower operating expenses over time.

The resources that are shared between the distributed antenna system andthe automation system mean that less infrastructure is needed, leadingto lower capital costs to install the system. With less equipment andfewer wiring runs, less maintenance will be required, leading to loweroperating costs. In addition, sharing the resources leads to more andbetter connections between the installed equipment and systems of thesite, such as a building. These advantages embody one concept of theInternet of Things (IoT), in which the little added infrastructure forthe building automation may be considered as an IoT infrastructure. Thepresent disclosure thus advances an internet of things (IoT) concept forgreater value and service to the users or occupants of the deploymentsite by better connecting devices, systems and services as describedherein.

If the wireless protocol used by the remote antenna unit wireless sensorreceiver/transmitter is one of the protocols used in mobile units suchas WiFi or Bluetooth, an application run on a standard cellphone or atablet can be used as a remote control for communicating with the IoTautomation controller. This may be done, for example, for remotelycontrolling the temperature at a certain area of the building using astandard cellphone or a tablet. If the wireless protocol used by thewireless sensor transceiver is not a standard protocol used in mobileunits (e.g. ZigBee™), the remote antenna unit may include an additionaltransceiver which uses a wireless protocol used by standard mobile unitssuch as WiFi or Bluetooth.

Improvements suggested by the optimization controller may includealtering power levels of one or more remote antenna units, switchingantenna units to other sectors/layers, thus improving uplink performanceamong users, and the like.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that anymethod set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps beperformed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim doesnot actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is nototherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that thesteps are to be limited to a specific order, it is no way intended thatany particular order be inferred.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Since modifications combinations,sub-combinations and variations of the disclosed embodimentsincorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur topersons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to includeeverything within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A remote unit comprising: a first transceiverconfigured for unlinking and downlinking a signal of a cellular service;and at least one second transceiver configured to uplink at least onesignal of at least one electrical element associated with a systemdevice, the at least one electrical element configured to generate anelectrical signal comprising electrical element data about the systemdevice on the occurrence of an event related to the system device and totransmit the generated electrical signal to the at least one secondtransceiver, wherein the at least one second transceiver is configuredto communicatively couple to a router configured for routing data fromthe at least one second transceiver received from the at least oneelectrical element to an automation controller configured to control thesystem device based on the received electrical element data.
 2. Theremote unit of claim 1, wherein the at least one second transceiver isfurther configured to downlink a signal to the at least one electricalelement.
 3. The remote unit of claim 1, wherein the at least one secondtransceiver is configured to uplink at least one signal from one or moreelectrical elements selected from the group consisting of a sensorelement, a processor, a value register, a protocol module, and atransmitter/receiver.
 4. The remote unit of claim 1, wherein the atleast one second transceiver is configured to uplink at least one signalfrom one or more sensor elements selected from the group consisting ofan accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a motion sensor, a consumptionsensor, a utility meter, a power sensor, a power management sensor, amagnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, a proximity sensor, a directionsensor, and a global positioning sensor.
 5. The remote unit of claim 1,wherein the remote unit is part of a distributed antenna system (DAS).6. The remote unit of claim 1, wherein the at least one secondtransceiver is configured to operate using a protocol selected from thegroup consisting of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Z-WAVE, ZigBee™,Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Thread, long range related protocols (LoRa),and SIGFOX.
 7. The remote unit of claim 1, wherein the remote unit isconfigured to provide an Internet of Things (IoT) hub.
 8. The remoteunit of claim 1, wherein the at least one second transceiver is furtherconfigured to bidirectionally communicate signals to and from a computercommunicatively coupled to the remote unit.
 9. The remote unit of claim1, wherein at least one of the first transceiver and the at least onesecond transceiver is further configured to bidirectionally communicatesignals to and from a user equipment communicatively coupled to theremote unit.
 10. The remote unit of claim 1, wherein the at least onesecond transceiver comprises a plurality of transceivers.
 11. The remoteunit of claim 1, wherein the at least one second transceiver isconfigured to uplink the at least one signal from the at least oneelectrical element via a broadcast message.
 12. The remote unit of claim1, further comprising a combiner configured to combine uplink signalsreceived from the at least one electrical element and provide thecombined uplink signals to the at least one second transceiver.
 13. Theremote unit of claim 1, further comprising a splitter configured tosplit downlink signals received by the remote unit that are intended forthe at least one electrical element and to provide the split downlinksignals to an antenna configured to transmit at least a portion of thedownlink signals to the at least one electrical element for which theportion of the downlink signals are intended.
 14. The remote unit ofclaim 1, further comprising a multiplexer/demultiplexer configured to:receive a plurality of uplink electrical signals comprising electricalelement data about the system device from the at least one secondtransceiver and multiplex the plurality of uplink electrical signals fortransmission to the router; and receive a plurality of downlink signalsfrom a head-end unit and demultiplex the plurality of downlink signalsfor transmission to one of more of the first transceiver and the atleast one second transceiver.
 15. The remote unit of claim 1, whereinthe remote unit is in a line of sight of the at least one electricalelement.
 16. An automation system comprising: a plurality of remoteunits (RUs); a wireless communications device configured to receive atleast one cellular service and route the at least one cellular serviceto at least one of the plurality of RUs; and at least one of theplurality of RUs comprising: a first transceiver configured foruplinking and downlinking a signal of a cellular service; and at leastone second transceiver configured to uplink at least one signal of atleast one electrical element associated with a system device, the atleast one electrical element configured to generate an electrical signalcomprising electrical element data about the system device on theoccurrence of an event related to the system device and to transmit thegenerated electrical signal to the at least one second transceiver,wherein the at least one second transceiver is configured tocommunicatively couple to a router configured for routing data from theat least one second transceiver received from the at least oneelectrical element to an automation controller configured to control thesystem device based on the received electrical element data.
 17. Theautomation system of claim 16, further comprising a plurality ofelectrical elements, each of the plurality of electrical elementsassociated with a system device and communicatively coupled to at leastone of the plurality of RUs and configured to generate electricalsignals comprising electrical element data about the system device onthe occurrence of an event related to the system device.
 18. Theautomation system of claim 16, wherein the at least one secondtransceiver is further configured to downlink a signal to the at leastone electrical element.
 19. The automation system of claim 16, furthercomprising the router configured for routing data from the at least onesecond transceiver received from the at least one electrical element,wherein the router is further configured to connect to the at least oneof the plurality of RUs.
 20. The automation system of claim 19, furthercomprising the automation controller configured to control the systemdevice based on the received electrical element data.